Outdoor Briefs: Fishermen Can Hit Local Waters for Salmon

Marine areas 5 and 6 (Sekiu/Pillar Point and eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca) will be open daily with a two-fish daily limit. Minimum size for chinook is 22 inches, but there is no minimum size for other salmon. All chum, wild chinook, and wild coho west of Ediz Hook must be released; all chum, all chinook and wild coho east of Ediz Hook must be released. Handling rules are in effect.

Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) will be open daily with a two-fish daily limit. No minimum size is required but anglers must release all chinook. Handling rules are in effect.

Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal south of Aycock Point) will be open daily with a four-fish daily limit. Up to two chinook and two coho may be retained. Minimum size for chinook is 22 inches. All chum must be released.

Salmon fishing also opens today on the Bogachiel, Calawah, Quinault and Nisqually rivers.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Steve Thiesfeld recommends Hood Canal, Sinclair Inlet and waters between Kingston and Jefferson Head to fisherman.

"Since no one's been fishing (Hood Canal), there are fish out there that haven't seen a lot of gear yet and may be more likely to go for the bait," Thiesfeld said. He suggests anglers start out at Lilliwaup, just north of Hoodsport on the west side of the canal.

All chinook must be released in area 10.

Road to Staircase Opens

Forest Road 24 — the Lake Cushman Road to Staircase Ranger Station in Olympic National Park — opened on Monday.

The popular road, first closed by a wildfire and later damaged by flooding and slides, has been closed to the general public since last fall. Olympic National Forest officials announced in a press release last Thursday that the road was expected to open to the Bear Gulch Picnic area at the northwest end of Lake Cushman.

The road continues past Bear Gulch for about a mile to the campground and trailheads at Staircase Ranger Station in Olympic National Park, and that portion of the road is scheduled to open on Thursday.

Information provided by Seabury Blair Jr. and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.